ST. PAUL, Minn. (April 13, 2019) — Minnesota’s People of Color and Indigenous Caucus on Saturday responded to President Donald Trump’s recent Tweet attacking on Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American who serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
Omar, 37, is member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. She was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016 before running for Congress in 2018. While serving in both the Minnesota House and in Congress, Omar has been critical of the administration’s domestic policies, including immigration, and has called for dismantling of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and has been critical of U.S. policy in Israel over its actions against Palestinian civilians.
Omar, a Muslim, has been the target of racists, leading to at least one arrest following a death threat. Her criticism against the administration has drawn attacks from colleagues and the president.
“As Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s friends and former colleagues, we have seen her fight for justice, equity and peace,” the POCI statement said. “President Trump’s recent tweets are in direct opposition to those values, as Congresswoman Omar’s words are repeatedly taken out of context in order to insult, degrade, and dehumanize her. These racist, Islamophobic attacks cannot be tolerated.
“The President’s words and posts are an incitement of violence against a sitting Member of Congress. As Minnesota’s People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, we denounce these attacks and stand with Ilhan. We encourage all other elected leaders, in Minnesota and elsewhere, to join us in condemning these hateful attacks.”
The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Mary Kunesh-Podein (41B), Fue Lee (59A), Alice Mann (56B), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), Samantha Vang (40B), Jay Xiong (67B), Tou Xiong (53B), and Sens. Melisa Franzen (49), Foung Hawj (67), Jeff Hayden (62), Bobby Joe Champion (59), and Patricia Torres-Ray (63).
